Interview by Tess Martens
Erick García Gómez is a self-taught painter. His main inspiration is from his hometown, San Cristóbal de las Casas, and his grandmother, who was a village healer. His work focuses on personal stories and political issues. His chosen colour palette and patterns reference the floor of his grandmother’s house where he grew up. Erick’s work is being rapidly recognized in Mexico and internationally. In the past couple of years he has exhibited his work all over Mexico and internationally at galleries in Ecuador, Canada and the Philippines.
Martens : Erick, I am extremely close to my grandmother on my mother's side. I read your paintings are based on your grandmother. Do you mind speaking further about your grandmother's influence on your art and life?
García Gómez: My grandmother is from San Cristobal de Las Casas, she spent her entire life there. There she learned traditional medicine through my great grandmother and other local healers. My grandmother began healing people from a very young age until she died at age 84. Her priority was to heal the poorest people who live in the highest mountains called "Los Altos de Chiapas", the people who live there are the most vulnerable and they chose my grandmother as an alternative to going to the hospital. People would pay with symbolic acts or objects. She had to learn three different indigenous languages in order to do her work for the people. So many magical things happened in her home and she met so many interesting people and changed so many lives. I now carry those stories into my work, and each painting I make is telling one of the many stories that exist within my family. She collected discarded ceramic tiles out of the gutter with my grandfather, and that is how they adorned the entire floor of their home. Their floor was made up of many tiles of different colours and patterns and I have been reinterpreting that floor into my paintings ever since. I will be presenting a large scale altar dedicated to my grandmother during my exhibit at the Capacity 3 Gallery in Guelph Ontario. The opening reception is at 6pm - 9pm on October 31st and will be up until November 23.
This painting is part of my upcoming exhibition at Capacity 3 Gallery. The name of the painting and the show is "Remedios" which means remedies. Each painting I am exhibiting talks about a different remedy created to cure people, the paintings I have made are on special paper from San Cristobal de Las Casas made from the fibre of the Maguey cactus. This particular painting is about the cream my grandmother made for burn victims, this person I painted in particular I remember well. His entire body was burnt, but I watched as the cream brought all of his skin back from under, just like magic.
Remedios, Erick García Gómez
Don’t miss at Kazoo! Spoooktacular 2019:
The Kazoo! Spoooktacular is back with two nights of hair-raising Halloween happenings. On Devil’s Night we’re gathering for Spooky cocktails and a candy buffet at Boarding House Gallery with sets from Korea Town Acid, Frosty Valentine, and Hymns57. And then on all hallows eve, we kick things off with a trick or treat opening reception for 'Remedios' by artist Erick García Gómez from 6-9pm at Capacity 3 Gallery and Ashlar Gallery. Later that night, we’ll be shivering under the covers at eBar with a killer lineup of local bands covering Black Sabbath, Alice Cooper, The Cure, Dead Moon, and more. It’s two nights of harrowing mayhem 😈
Shivering Under the Covers
We’re summoning a gathering of spirits to pay tribute with a night of haunted covers at the Kazoo! Spoooktacular. Don’t miss all your favourite Guelph bands performing all the spoookiest covers. Line up includes:
🕷️ Bonnie Trash covering Black Sabbath
🕷️ The Lonely Wild covering Dead Moon
🕷️ David Alexander covering John Carpenter
🕷️ Nicolette & the Nobodies + Bonnie Trash covering Alice Cooper
🕷️ Mant covering The Cure
🕷️ Transstar w/ Gillian Elder covering Screamin’ Jay & Metallica
🕷️ Drunk at the Library & guests covering The Hold Steady
🕷️ Fright Stripes covering The White Stripes
About Tess
You can spot Tess Martens performing with all her heart during karaoke night because she has to compensate for her singing voice or cracking jokes at a music open mic night. She is a performance artist and painter that exploits her vulnerabilities and humour. When she is not doing art, she is working with seniors. She recently received her Masters of Fine Art at the University of Waterloo. She now resides in Waterloo, Ontario. Follow Tess on Instagram.